Mackie and Uncle Kyle

Mackie and Uncle Kyle came to town this past weekend for a visit. Uncle Bryan and his girlfriend, Dre, were also supposed to come, but due to recent illness, it did not work out. The visit was full of firsts for Logan: first trip to the airport that shares his name, first time meeting one of his three uncles, first time going out for a meal, and first time snow tubing.

Mackie, Mama, Uncle Kyle, and Logan

As a kid, it is always great to have uncles, especially fun uncles. Logan really took to his Uncle Kyle and looks forward to seeing him again soon for further male bonding.

Playing with Uncle Kyle

Watching college hoops

Uncle Kyle sledding in the yard

The family trucked to Parker's Maple Barn for a late breakfast on Saturday morning. They make their own maple syrup on-site so everyone got something to pour it on to while Logan watched in envy.

Ready for maple syrup

The Fam at Parker's

Covered bridge at Parker's

Logan was a little shy of the 42 inch height requirement for snow tubing, so it was his first time in a “chalet” (as it was advertised on the website) that more closely resembled the eatery in Wal-Mart. Uncle Kyle and Mackie took their hand at snow tubing while Logan and Mama watched the 10 year old boys play the video arcade “Crusin' Exotica.” Then Mama and Mackie switched off and Logan passed out in Mackie's arms amidst the commotion in the chalet. A good time was had by all.

Sound asleep with Mackie

On the way home from tubing, Logan had to make a pit-stop. The bathroom at the gas station did not have a pull-down changing table, so Mama made due in the back of the car. Logan did not seem to mind.

We are doing this here?!

All in all, it was a great visit. It is so hard living so far from family, and we really cherish these visits. We love you, Mackie and Uncle Kyle!

Enjoying the New England weather

It was such a nice day

Little bit more time with Mackie before she leaves

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Logan rolled over from tummy to back for the first time Friday, February 18^th! I was so excited. He was trying so hard all morning to roll over and I recorded a frustrated baby that was not able to quite do it. Then, when I was not ready, he did it. It was moments before Daddy got home from work, so Matt got to see the second one. He has not done it many times since then, but that's okay. He now really wants to go from back to tummy. He did it in the bed with a little help from gravity the other morning, but he cannot do it on a flat surface yet. I am such a proud mama!

Ready to brace the New England winter

Just got home and waking up from a car coma.

Logan's new favorite toy, which he got for Valentine's Day.

One tired boy.  Little did he know he was about to get a bath.

Practicing for cigars

Keeping an eye on big bro, Roc

Another picture?!

Bumbo!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

At Logan's expense, I subjected him to a Valentine's Day photo shoot.

The scratch on Logan's face is self-inflicted. It is his attempt to pick up a lady friend for Valentine's Day. He heard that men with scars give off a tough vibe, which the ladies love.

3 Months Old!!!

Seriously?! 3 months already! And boy how Logan continues to grow and develop.

Logan has fallen in love, with his fists. He often grasps them together, and brings them to his mouth to eat them. He is starting to drool a lot, too. I know it sounds a little early for him to be teething, but those are a few signs that chompers are trying to make their way out. 

Fists in the mouth while reading with Mama

For a little over a week now, Logan has developed the ability to bat at, reach for, and hold objects. He goes after the insects hanging above him in the bouncy seat and the jungle animals above him on the elephant play mat. While he has been staring at the animals/bugs for a while, he now reaches out to either hit them or grab on to them. If only his arms were long enough to reach the bears that taunt him when he is in the swing.

Reaching . . .

Got it!

With all of this handy work, he is happy to grab anything in his reach. This includes the cloth diaper we keep over his “little man” during diaper changes so that we don't get sprayed. In fact, I fell victim to this the other week. I did not realize that he had pulled the cloth off until I felt the wet spray on my stomach. I did not think such a little bladder could hold so much!

Logan is getting much better at lifting his head. Tummy time is starting to pay-off.

But this is what Logan thinks of tummy time.

Logan is full of smiles. He grins all the time, especially when he wakes up in the morning and from naps. It melts my heart each time he smiles. However, our little boy is very camera shy. I have only be able to capture his smile three times. As soon as he sees that camera, the smile disappears. And he is not only shy in front of the still camera, the video camera intimidates his as well. This makes it hard to capture some of his best moments. I think he just likes to give his smiles in person to make them more special.

With Logan's 3^rd month birthday, I started to reflect on my current position as stay at home mom. If I was still working, I either would have already returned to work or would in another week or two. We did make some sacrifices in the past two years knowing that I wanted to stay home, but I am so grateful to Matt that I am able to do so. For me, I would not have it any other way. It means so much to me that I get to see each developmental milestone and get to spend each day getting to know my little man better. I love my boys!

Logan sporting essential New England clothing - a fleece vest

Trying to figure out how to break out

Practicing sitting

Eating his fists even in a wet towel

Mama or Daddy?

We have our opinions as to who Logan looks like, but you be the judge.

Logan about two weeks ago (2 1/2 months old)

Mama age 2-3 months

Daddy age 3-5 months

Giggles, Rolls, and Bums

While it took a while to get going, winter is in full force in New England.  We have had some really cold nights which are followed by cold days.  It was so cold that Matt's side of the garage door (we have two doors) froze shut, and he had to take my car to work!  We have also had snow storm after snow storm.  Matt is really getting his money's worth out of the snow blower.  I think this is Mother Nature's be careful what you wish for after my complaining in December that we had not had a good snowfall yet.

Proof of the coldness.  And with the wind, the wind chill was around -25!  Yes, Matt get's up that early.

Rocky in his bathroom path.

We are hoping that one of the icicles does not impale us.

Logan laughed for the first time in the evening of January 19^th. This is something that I have really been looking forward to and have been trying to draw out of him for a while. Like his first smile and “words”, you could tell that he really wanted to laugh. Finally, I got that sweet sound out of him. He continued the next day, but will not offer up the giggles since then. He has decided that he is not my puppet.

Logan has learned how to roll from his back to his side with ease. While he can roll to either side, he very much prefers his right side. In fact, the other day he rolled over to his right side, hugged himself, and immediately fell asleep. It was too cute. Of course, he fell over to his back before I could get the camera. 

Rolling action shot

Made it!

This past week, Logan developed a diaper rash that looked painful, but seemed to cause him no pain. I will not describe the rash for his sake and yours, but it worried me enough to call the doctor. The nurse recommended soaking his bum in a baking soda bath 2-3 times a day and then trying to air out his bum. Dangerous to let our little guy not have a diaper on, but whatever it takes. So, for two days, I cranked up the heat (remember, it's been really cold), gave Logan his “baths” and aired out his bum. It is a good thing that he likes his tub and being naked. The reason I mention all of this is because it explains the pictures of my naked little boy, minus socks (he has naturally cold feet like his Mama). Who can resist a naked baby bottom?! 

Logan would kill me if he was old enough to know that I released this picture to the world.  But come on, it is too cute!

Logan and Daddy

He is supposed to be working during tummy time.  He would rather drool on his hand.

Reading with Daddy

Wa-hoo!  Tummy time pays off!

With Mama

Ode to the Bouncy Seat

I knew that some things would change when Logan was born. However, there are two things that I love that were made much harder with Logan around: cooking and taking long, hot showers.

I love to cook. Pre-Logan, I would put on the i-pod, pour a glass of wine (or water while I was pregnant), and spend hours in the kitchen cooking dinner. I loved it. I knew once he was born, that it would be hard to cook for the first few weeks. But I was prepared. I had my mom in town for a week, so she cooked. About a month before he was born, I filled the freezer with meals that were easy to defrost, heat and eat. That got me through another two to three weeks after he was born. In between, I would cook on the weekend when Matt was around to care for Logan. Then, after about a month, I had to cook with Logan by myself. It was rough for a while. He is always more active in the evening and cluster feeds. Both of those make it hard for me to cook. I found myself doing prep work while he took his long nap in the afternoon. Overall, it became a stressful time for me.

I love long, hot showers, especially this time of year, when the thermometer reads 20 degrees on a good day. Again, with my mom in town and Matt home for the first week, I was able to take those showers without a problem. Then mom left and Matt returned to work. My strategy each day was to wait until Logan went down for his long nap (2-3 hours) and then move him upstairs with me to his bassinet and try to shower and dress before he woke up. The problem with that was either I mistook a catnap for the long nap or I would wake him up trying to move him. In the case he woke up while I was in the shower, I would get out of the shower and my baby would just be fussing. But then, by the time I was dressed, he would be full out crying. Many days I would wait until Matt got home and take a shower at 8:00 or 8:30 pm. I hate showering that late. My long, hot showers became a thing of the weekend. Showering became stressful for me.

This was all before Logan fell in love with his bouncy seat. The bouncy seat vibrates and has a few toys that dangle in front of him. He was not a fan for a few weeks, but now he loves it. And it is great because I can carry it up and down stairs and into other rooms with ease. The bouncy seat now frequents the kitchen and the bathroom. He will either sleep in it or be completely content just vibrating, bouncing, and studying the bug-eyed insects in front of him. While the shower is not as long as the weekend ones, it is of decent length and hot. As for preparing dinner, the i-pod has returned. Sometimes Logan will even sing along with me. The stress that used to accompany these daily tasks are a thing of the past.

Bouncy seat, I love you!

Yay Bouncy Seat!  Yes, Logan is sleeping like that.

Logan's view of his buds Johnny, Leroy, and Skeeter (Daddy named them)

"I love my bouncy seat, really."